Tag Archives: pepper

These cucumber raita rolls were the starter dish that I created for my final project. This dish was inspired by both Indian raita and Greek tzatziki yogurt dishes. The filling in the rolls is flavored more as a tzatziki. The cumin-infused raita flavor is in the root vegetable salad beneath it, which is a blend of sweet potato, turnip, and jicama. The dish is topped off with a sweet pepper relish and garnished with a few tiny mint leaves.

I was very pleased with the way the flavors and textures of this dish turned out. The noodles were neither too soggy nor too crunchy, the cucumber rolls had a lot of flavor, and their soft texture complimented the subtle al dente texture in the root vegetable salad, while the sweet pepper relish brought in just a bit of sweetness to top the whole thing off. It was a well blended mix of tangy, savory, salt, and sweet. I am really thrilled that the course gave me the means to create something so beautiful and delicious.

1 English cucumber, sliced thinly along the length of the fruit, on a mandolin.

Yogurt Directions

Blend yogurt ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and completely incorporated. Cover with muslin and put in dehydrator for 18 hours at 110 degrees. Put it in a cheesecloth with a weight on it and drain it for 36 hours. It will continue to ferment and thicken, and come out like a Greek yogurt. Put it in the fridge until you are ready to add the raita seasoning. Reduces to appx 1/2 cup + 2 TB.

Raita Directions

Toss peeled and grated cucumber with 1/4 tsp salt. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze as much moisture out as possible. Reduces down to about 2 TB. Stir into yogurt along with the rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pepper Relish Directions

Toss all ingredients together. Dehydrate at 115 for 4-5 hours (on a non-stick sheet so nothing falls through) to soften and chill overnight.

Root Vegetable Salad Directions

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl and allow to marinade 10-15 minutes before serving.

Assembly

Layer a small handful of the root vegetable salad on the base of a small sushi plate.

Place roughly 1 TB of the raita mix onto the end of a cucumber slice and roll it up. Place rolls on top of salad.

Top with sweet pepper relish.

Notes

Feel free to make a much larger batch of yogurt, relish, or salad with this recipe. Whatever yogurt you don't use for the raita is excellent to eat for breakfast. Having a raw vegan relish is nice to add to any dish as a condiment!

GRADUATION!!! I finished Fundamentals of Raw Cuisine! My last two days were spent working out the final details of my recipes and practicing my plating. Please enjoy the recipes

For our final, we were to design a 3-course meal and then implement 2 of those courses with complete recipes and plating. It was a wonderful experience and I loved the process of working out prototypes and receiving feedback from the instructors. I chose to execute my starter and my dessert.

Here is the menu that I created for my final project. It was based on my favorite cuisine, which is Indian food. 🙂

To finish off the 10th day of my raw food classes, we were tasked with a challenge to come up with an original recipe based on a set of given criteria (I won’t spoil the fun for anyone who wants to take the class – no cheating!). Ultimately, my strange thought process led me to create a Bloody Mary Gazpacho.

I was really pleased with myself when I tasted the final result. The soup base does indeed taste like a fresh Bloody Mary base, and all without the need for any animal products (goodbye Worcestershire sauce!) or heat treated juices that are devoid of nutrition. This particular dish is loaded with vitamin C and vitality!

Part of the assignment was to get fancy with the presentation, so I had a lot of fun with the plating, but if that’s not your thing, feel free to just dump your vegetables right on top.

Put sun dried tomatoes (for soup base) in warm water to soak for 10-15 min while you prepare the chopped vegetables and marinade.

Juice the celery and the limes.

Chop the vegetables and add all of them except the carrots to a medium sized mixing bowl.

Add the marinade ingredients to the chopped vegetables and mix until well coated. Let it sit while you make the sauce.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to the blender on high speed until smooth and well combined. If you want to thin it out a bit, you can add a little bit of filtered water, 1 TB at a time.

Divide the chopped vegetables into two portions - one for each plate.

For each plate: If you want to get fancy, line a ring mold with the sliced carrots. It helps to have them in a bowl of water so they stick together better. Then, fill the ring mold with half of the chopped vegetables and pack it down. Juices will leak out and this is ok. Pour appx half of the soup mix into the bowl BEFORE removing the ring mold. Let the juices mingle and swirl them with a spoon for an even consistency. Then, carefully, remove the ring mold, and garnish with some fresh herbs.

If you want a more rustic dish that looks like a traditional gazpacho, then add the soup base to the bowl first, forget the ring mold, and add the vegetables right on top. Use the shaved carrots as a garnish around the edges of the soup.

Notes

If you REALLY want to, you can thin out the soup base to make it a more drinkable texture and it does make an excellent vegan Bloody Mary base.

If you add some flax seed to the water that the carrots are in, they will adhere together even better.

The ume vinegar really does provide a depth of flavor, even though there is a small amount. If you can't find it, you can try substituting with ACV and then adding an extra 1/2 tsp of dulse flakes to increase the "fishy" factor.

You can probably use coconut aminos in place of the tamari if you prefer.

The smoked spices REALLY make the flavor pop on this. Please don't omit them. I used an applewood smoked sea salt from a local spice company, but you can use any that you like which has a strong wood-smoked infusion of taste and fragrance.